I wonder who feels worse today, Brett Favre, mustering up enough self-delusion and injections to play last night only to be knocked out with a concussion, or me, losing in the fantasy playoff semi-finals by 1.4 points to a Michael Vick owner? If I had to be objective, it’d probably be Favre – even though we’re both dealing with hangover headaches. Here’s why I finally think Brett has played his last game… Continue reading →

I hate how every year Norv Turner somehow magically ends the season with a huge winning streak to get into the playoffs. It makes the beginning of the season seem useless, almost meaningless (like MLB games), and a team that was possibly one of the worst can get a highly coveted home-field playoff game. I guess luckily for them, the Chargers are in the AFC West, so they’re never out of the hunt…

Anyway, it looks like the Chargers are surging again at the right time and should continue that streak tonight against the 49ers. Sure, the Chargers lost to the Raiders this December, but the 49ers are an entirely different team out of the Bay Area. Alex Smith‘s resurgence in Seattle last week won’t make a repeat performance against a stout Chargers defense, and Brian Westbrook will struggle to make the big plays he made last week. Strange to say, but Westbrook is no McFadden. Rivers will overcome the loss of Antonio Gates & Malcom Floyd and hook up with Vincent Jackson & “the rest” of his receivers to eat up the 49ers in what should be another lopsided affair. It took going all the way to week 15, but tonight’s outcome will help give Singletary some closure on his playoff hopes. How sad the NFL West divisions truly are. Chargers win 30-10.

*Update* So, it looks like the Chargers’ playoff hopes look a lot healthier than Antonio Gates on the sidelines (and the 49ers’ hopes). The Chargers made an early statement by stopping the 49ers on a 4th and goal, and that statement carried throughout the rest of the game. The Chargers dominated on both sides of the ball, and Vincent Jackson made enough plays to help any team win, including your fantasy team. The final score was just as lopsided as I thought, 34-7.

I’m a regular subscriber to the Rich Eisen Podcast, and I must say it’s one of my all-time favorites to listen to. It’s entertaining and insightful, and Rich always manages to get the best people to guest. I mean, come on… He even had Will Ferrell on the pod! That’s when you know you’re the real deal.

Rich, always a gracious host (except to Clay Matthews), stepped up his game once more this week by having our namesake, Ed Reed, on the pod. It’s towards the beginning of the clip, so you don’t have to listen to John Legend and Mark Wahlberg if you don’t want to… and plus, those guys are Bengals and Patriots fans, respectively. Gross! Anyway, enjoy hearing Ed Reed talk about the state of the 2010 Ravens and reiterate the story of “Law Dead” for the last time. Good stuff!

As a Ravens fan, I can say that I’m quite thankful for the abundance of prime-time games lately (although we lost to the Falcons and Steelers in 2 nail-biters). Tonight will be another showdown involving the Ravens, but unlike the previous prime-time Ravens games (@NYJ, @ATL, PIT), this one shouldn’t be too close. Houston’s offense has some great players, but with the way that the Ravens defense has been playing, I don’t see the Texans scoring over 20 (that’s saying a lot). Now, on the other hand, after such a devastating loss to the Steelers last week, most of which has been blamed on the offense and Cam Cameron, the Ravens will come out with as much offensive firepower as they can muster. Considering every skill player has been to the Pro Bowl (Boldin, Mason, Houshmandzadeh, Heap, Rice, McGahee, McClain), it’s about time for the Ravens to get their offensive act together. Thankfully, the Houston defense is a nice and soft opponent to get the motor churning. Flacco and the Ravens take to the air and win 28-17.

*Disclaimer* Yes, I’m a Ravens fan, and I’m currently wearing my Ed Reed jersey as I write this, but come on! Would you put money on the Texans to win it? At least I used a picture of the Texans for the post!

*Update* To be fair, my prediction was accurate until about halfway through the 4th quarter. The Ravens came out storming and put up 28 points with ease. Then, just like they’ve done for the entirety of 2010, the Ravens made sure the game stayed close, giving the Texans hope with long, draining scoring drives. After tying it up, the pass rush dominated in OT and forced Schaub to throw an interception for a TD. Ravens won 34-28, in what shouldn’t have been a nail-biter.

Remember Dante Hall? He was one of the most exciting players to watch during his prime, wasn’t he? Here’s just a short little highlight reel of some of his plays. It’s easy to see why he earned the nickname “Human Joystick.” Don’t forget that all those guys he’s making fools of are professional athletes… and don’t miss the Dick Vermeil cameo towards the end. He was an awesome coach. Enjoy!

Okay, just from the title alone, you can already guess who I think is going to win tonight’s game. As bad as the Colts have been playing lately, nobody in the entire NFL has been playing as bad as the Titans these last couple weeks. That’s saying a lot if you consider that the Panthers and Cardinals are also actual participants in the NFL. I guess you can argue that the Titans are getting Kerry Collins and Kenny Britt back, but even with Chris Johnson running around the Colts, I don’t think they can match Peyton‘s offensive execution. Yes, he’s been playing horrible lately, but even while he’s throwing 3-4 INTs per game, the Colts are usually still offensively in the game. Remember in 2007 when he threw 6 INTs against the Chargers? The Colts almost won that game! The quickness with which Peyton can drive down a football field is uncanny, and I see that as the determining factor in tonight’s game (and I just don’t see him throwing 4 picks again, but don’t bet money against it). Having Jacob Tamme on the field tonight would be more of a reason to like the Colts, but it looks like he’s a game-time decision. The Colts outmatch Chris Johnson’s production and win 31-13 in yet another boring prime-time game.

*Update* So, the game didn’t end up being quite as large of a blow-out as I thought, but even though it was only a 2 point game, that’s because the Titans scored a TD with 0 secs left on the clock. It didn’t really mean anything. Peyton showed up and picked apart the Titans defense, only having to worry about Blair White defending his TD pass to Reggie Wayne. That was smooth, rookie. Chris Johnson also had a nice performance, along with Kerry Collins, but just like I predicted (I also said Colts would score 31… just sayin’), the Colts moved down the field with too much efficiency to be topped by CJ1K. The Colts were aided by a few questionable pass-interference calls, but who’s surprised that the NFL wants to see the Colts make a run for the playoffs? I personally would like to see the Jaguars take the AFC South, but I’m sure there are many, including the IceBat, who would hate such a thing.